HOUSTON — With the possible trade of Carmelo Anthony serving as a backdrop, the Nuggets will try to end their three-game road losing streak tonight against a Milwaukee team that has struggled this season.

The Nuggets and Knicks continue to talk with the trade deadline just eight days away. The sticking point remains just how much New York is willing to part with for Melo.

Talks, according to a person close to the situation, will continue over the all-star break.

A source in a New York Daily News story Tuesday said the Nuggets are asking for three starters, including Danilo Gallinari and Raymond Felton, plus Eddy Curry’s expiring contract and at least one first-round pick. In that proposed deal, Anthony and veteran point guard Chauncey Billups would be sent to the Knicks.

A resolution has to be reached soon or Anthony either will remain with the team or could be dealt to another one waiting in the wings — a team such as the Houston Rockets, who would not require the promise of a signed extension to trade for him.

Meanwhile, there is basketball to be played. If the Nuggets (31-25) win tonight, yes, coach George Karl will look at the first 57 games largely as a success.

“We can salvage a pretty good first half of the season if we can get a win in Milwaukee,” Karl said. “I think the NBA season is a building process of trying to figure out who you are.

“The situations of injuries and circumstances we’ve had, we’ve been basically treading water, not building. And I think maybe in the last couple of games, we’ve dropped a little bit. I think it’s just to energize the game and if we can put 32 wins up at the all-star break, I think that was an acceptable number at the beginning of the year, and I think it’s acceptable now.”

But for many Nuggets fans this finish leading into the break doesn’t feel acceptable. The Nuggets have lost two in a row and five of seven.

The past two losses have come in spectacular fashion. Sunday at Memphis, the Nuggets were outscored 47-22 in the game’s last 16 minutes, a game in which the Grizzlies erased a 17-point deficit to win 116-108. On Monday, the Nuggets collapsed in the second and third quarters, outscored by 33 points in that span. Houston cruised to a 121-102 win.

“I’m not satisfied with how we’re playing,” Billups said. “Talent-wise, we are a lot better than this. We are really not in a bad spot record-wise, but we have to start playing better.”

That may start with a pep talk.

“I’m sure there will be some communication similar to that,” Karl said. “There will be some talk (about) staying away from the negative. Both of these games we’ve played — the Memphis game we had 30 minutes of good basketball; (Monday) we probably had 25 good minutes of basketball.

“We’ve just got to get back to completing the game. We’re not putting 48 minutes of solid basketball on the court, and the moments of solid basketball are momentum swings that are heavy, very heavy and very big.”

Denver at Milwaukee

7 p.m., ALT2/ESPN, 950 AM

Spotlight on Brandon Jennings: The middle of the young point guard’s season was gutted because of a broken foot. He missed 19 games and has just recently started to get into the groove after returning to the team Jan. 29. He averaged 15.6 points, 3.2 assists and 2.2 steals in his last five games.

Nuggets: Forward Carmelo Anthony (right shoulder contusion) is expected to play tonight, but he was happy for the day off Tuesday. Asked how he was feeling after the game against the Rockets on Monday, Anthony said: “My right shoulder hurts. It’s good we got a day off before our next game in Milwaukee.”

Bucks: Should the Bucks lose tonight, it will be the first time they have been swept in the season series by the Nuggets since the 2006-07 season. The Nuggets won this season’s first meeting (105-94 in Denver on Dec. 1). . . . The Bucks have a two-game winning streak in games before the all-star break. . . . Guard Michael Redd is expected to rejoin the team Monday. It is uncertain when he will play. His last game was 13 months ago (Jan. 10, 2010), when he tore the ACL and MCL in his left knee.

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